Gestione del ciclo di vita

Enrico Vezzetti
 Technical Specifcations

 Once we have a structured list of scored costumer needs

how can we use them for proceeding with the product
design ?
 It is necessary to convert them in product attributes and
technical specifications
 From costumer needs to specifications

Even if costumer needs provide to the design group which

are the customer requests, they don’t provide specific
suggestions for the new product design.
This happen because costumer needs are strongly
subjective. For that reason it is necessary to translate the
costumer needs in detailed technical specifications that
describe WHAT the product has to do with specific and
measurable features
Technical specification is a precise description of what the
product is or what it has to do
 From costumer needs to specifications

Mountain Bike Fork

 From costumer needs to specifications

The technical specification doesn’t describe HOW to solve

the costumer need
The technical specifications represent what the design
team will try to reach, the project goal, in order to satisfy
the costumer need.
For instance “the damper could be easily be installed” could
be translated in “the average time for assembling the
damper to the maintain bike structure should be less than
75 sec”
Every technical specification has a units with a reachable
value
 From costumer needs to specifications: example

It is necessary to start from the idea that it is possible to

translate each need in precise and measurable
specifications, and their achievement satisfy the need. For
each need we have to identify at least one technical
specification

Technical specifications could be product performances or

product features.
 From costumer needs to specifications: The
specifications list - Guidelines

It is necessary to use dependent parameters and not

indipendent ones.

For instance they could talk about the “fork mass” that
depends from other features, related with the technical
solution employable, rather than talking about “material”
that is indipendent. At this stage we only describe what
we want to obtain for satisfying the costumer need but
we don’t care about the technical solution employable
 From costumer needs to specifications: The
specifications list - Guidelines

Some needs could not be translated in measurable

technical specification. In this situation it is necessary to
maintain the need instead of the technical specification and
explain that it is subjective

For instance: “the fork should make its owner proud”. This
need is quite important in the mountain bike market,
because of fashion, but its measure is subjective
 From costumer needs to specifications: The
specifications list - Guidelines

It is necessary to include also those criteria or tests that

normally are employed for evaluating that product in specific
markets.

For instance: in the mountain bike market the different types are
tested with a specific machine that is called “MONSTER” that
measure the vertical acceleration of the handlebar, where the
fork is mounted, during the passage over a step of 50 mm.

If it is not possible to identify a need to correlate with the

specification of this commercial test it means that some needs
are missing because not all the interested costumer have been
involved
 From costumer needs to specifications

 Allows fast slopes on broken ground (score = 5)

 Smoothes out vibrations to hands (score = 3)

 Max value of “Monster” test (g)

 Time to complete a trial course (sec)

It is possible to identify the technical specifications taking a

look of similar products and their specifications
 FROM COSTUMER NEEDS TO SPECIFICATIONS: THE
SPECIFICATIONS LIST – QFD

Technical Specifications

Relation Matrix
Needs

In order to support the identification of the technical

specification and verify their correlation with the costumer
need, it is possible to use the QFD
 FROM COSTUMER NEEDS TO SPECIFICATIONS: THE
SPECIFICATIONS LIST – QFD – EXAMPLE

CUP OF COFFEE

Temperature
Temperature at Caffeine Taste Flavor Aroma Selling
Volume after a certain
which is served Amount Components Intensity Component Price
time
Hot

Keeps awake

Full of Flavor
With good
Flavor Relations Matrix
Inexpensive
In adeguate
quantity
Hot after a
certain time
 FROM COSTUMER NEEDS TO SPECIFICATIONS: THE
SPECIFICATIONS LIST – QFD - EXAMPLE

1 = low correllation 3 = medium correlation 9 = strong correlation

Temperature Temperature
Caffeine Taste Flavor Aroma Selling
at which is Volume after a certain
Amount Components Intensity Component Price
served time

Hot 9 3

Keeps 3 3
awake
Full of 1 1 9 3
Flavor
With good 9 3
Flavor
Inexpensive 9 3

In adeguate 3 9
quantity
Hot after a 3 9
certain time
FROM COSTUMER NEEDS TO SPECIFICATIONS: THE
SPECIFICATIONS LIST – QFD - EXAMPLE
From costumer needs to specifications: The
specifications list - example

Montain Bike Fork

COSTMER NEEDS
 From costumer needs to specifications: The
specifications VALUES - example

Montain Bike Fork

Time to complete a trial

Structure Assembly
“Monster” test
Max value of

Total Mass

course
Time
It is light X
It is simple to install X
Allows fast slopes on
X
broken ground
Smoothes out
X
vibrations to hands
From costumer needs to specifications: The
specifications VALUES - example
From costumer needs to specifications: The
specifications VALUES - example
From costumer needs to specifications: The
specifications VALUES - example
FROM COSTUMER NEEDS TO SPECIFICATIONS: THE
SPECIFICATIONS LIST – QFD - EXAMPLE

These are the relative importance of

the technical specifications (desire
quality)
 From costumer needs to specifications: The
specifications VALUES

Once the technical specification have been decided it is

necessary to decide the values. Normally it is better to
propose an ideal one and an acceptable one.

The ideal value represents the best result reachable

The acceptable value represents the limit value that
maintain the product interesting
The choice of these values could be supported by a
benchmarking process, taking a look of the competitors
products values
FROM COSTUMER NEEDS TO SPECIFICATIONS: THE
SPECIFICATIONS LIST – BENCHMARKING

1,0: not a key feature

1,2: possible
1,5: really important
22
 Benchmarking

• Thank to the benchmarking procedure the QFD allows to

evaluate costumer needs importance in relation with
what their feel looking at the different products available
on the market (Column G), working on the perceived
quality using the product, instead of the desired quality
only

• Working with this new Values (Column G) and those

correlation ones (1,3,9) located in the cell of the
correlation matrix, it is possible to know which is the
technical specifications importance
 FROM COSTUMER NEEDS TO SPECIFICATIONS: THE
SPECIFICATIONS LIST – QFD - EXAMPLE

Technical specification relative importance (peso

assoluto x correlazioni). It takes care of the 24
perceived quality with the competitors products
 Benchmarking

Compared with competitors there is

The perceived quality a low level of satisfaction (Bad)
doesn’t always match
with the offered one
(perceived internally)

It means that
technicians don’t have
a clear idea of the
costumer needs

Compared with competitors the feature has a high level (Good)

 FROM COSTUMER NEEDS TO SPECIFICATIONS:
THE SPECIFICATIONS LIST – QFD - EXAMPLE

3
1 2

It means that we can decrease the specifications values as target

 Benchmarking

• After the benchmarking phase it is possible to have a

more detailed information about the importance of the
technical specification in relation with the direct
experience of the costumer with the product and in
particular in relation with the quality perceived
• At this stage it is possible to understand which is the value
for every technical specification
• Once defined the technical specifications values, it will be
necessary to design a concept and then a prototype able
to reach the specification values just defined
 From costumer needs to specifications: The
specifications VALUES - example

Montain Bike Fork - Bechmarking

St Tritrack

Maniray 2

Tonka Pro
Unit
Max value of “Monster”
g 3,6 3,2 3,7
test
Total Mass kg 1,4 1,3 1,2
Structure Assembly Time sec 35 35 35
Time to complete a trial
sec 13 11.3 13,2
course
 From costumer needs to specifications: The
specifications VALUES - example

Montain Bike Fork - BENCHMARKING

St Tritrack

Maniray 2

Tonka Pro
It is light 1 3 4
It is simple to install 3 4 4
Allows fast slopes on
1 5 2
broken ground
Smoothes out
1 4 2
vibrations to hands
 From costumer needs to specifications: The
specifications VALUES - example

Montain Bike Fork - Bechmarking

St Tritrack

Maniray 2

Tonka Pro
Unit
Total Mass kg 1,4 1,3 1,2
Structure Assembly Time sec 35 35 35
Time to complete a trial
sec 13 11.3 13,2
course
Max value of “Monster”
g 3,6 3,2 3,7
test
 From costumer needs to specifications: The
specifications VALUES - example

Montain Bike Fork – New Model

Acceptable

Ideal
Unit
Total Mass kg < 1,3 < 1,1
Structure Assembly Time sec < 35 < 35
Time to complete a trial
sec < 12 < 11
course
Max value of “Monster”
g < 3,5 < 3,2
test
From costumer needs to specifications: The
specifications VALUES - example
From costumer needs to specifications: The
specifications VALUES - example
From costumer needs to specifications: The
specifications VALUES - example
From costumer needs to specifications: The
specifications VALUES - example